Hello guys! Welcome to my last blog for 20th Century Novel. Today, I would like to discuss a topic
brought up in class discussion recently regarding Milkman.
As discussed, Milkman is a rather dull character. He has no passion, no drive to accomplish anything.
In comparison to the surrounding characters (Guitar, Macon Dead, Hagar),
he has no real motive through almost the entire book. Guitar is an avid fighter for Black Equality,
while Milkman has no aspiration. I argue that when Milkman is tasked with
finding the gold bag, he starts his transition into having an actual purpose. For this claim to hold
any weight, it is essential to show that there is a change in Milkman's purpose.
At the beginning of the book, Milkman has no aspirations. He has worked alongside his father for
practically his entire life, he still lives with his family,
and he has no plans to move out and establish himself in the world. This refusal to develop into his
character is likely a sign of lack of ambition. This lack of enthusiasm
ultimately makes Milkman a boring character. To be quite frank, the reader does not care that much
about milkman's actions, because there are so many other well-rounded characters
in the book. This 1-Dimensionality hurts Milkman as a character but allows for a more significant
change in personality.
Towards the end of the book, more specifically when Milkman is assigned to finding this treasure,
we see a more significant change in purpose for Milkman. As discussed in class,
we see Milkman take on this task with newfound responsibility. It's also sort of ironic that the
only exciting task that Milkman undergoes was assigned by his family. This gives
the readers the sense that Milkman is hugely dependent on those around him, even when he has his
adventure.
The reason why I say that Milkman transitions into being a more independent person is that is
because Milkman transitions into a person with a lust to be separate. With the proper
amount of money, Milkman desires to finally get away from his parents after 31 years. This
signifies a massive shift in character since this is the first time Milkman strives for
anything. This is probably due to his upbringing. Milkman has been handed everything: a home,
a job, a loving girlfriend, etc. He never really knew the struggle of having nothing
and needed to work for material goods. As such, he always expected those things to be there
for him. I think this is also a prominent problem in society today as well. The shift to
being a more independent and free symbolizes the fact that at some point, everyone branches
off into their person, no matter how privileged or 1-dimensional they are.
brought up in class discussion recently regarding Milkman.
As discussed, Milkman is a rather dull character. He has no passion, no drive to accomplish anything.
In comparison to the surrounding characters (Guitar, Macon Dead, Hagar),
he has no real motive through almost the entire book. Guitar is an avid fighter for Black Equality,
while Milkman has no aspiration. I argue that when Milkman is tasked with
finding the gold bag, he starts his transition into having an actual purpose. For this claim to hold
any weight, it is essential to show that there is a change in Milkman's purpose.
At the beginning of the book, Milkman has no aspirations. He has worked alongside his father for
practically his entire life, he still lives with his family,
and he has no plans to move out and establish himself in the world. This refusal to develop into his
character is likely a sign of lack of ambition. This lack of enthusiasm
ultimately makes Milkman a boring character. To be quite frank, the reader does not care that much
about milkman's actions, because there are so many other well-rounded characters
in the book. This 1-Dimensionality hurts Milkman as a character but allows for a more significant
change in personality.
Towards the end of the book, more specifically when Milkman is assigned to finding this treasure,
we see a more significant change in purpose for Milkman. As discussed in class,
we see Milkman take on this task with newfound responsibility. It's also sort of ironic that the
only exciting task that Milkman undergoes was assigned by his family. This gives
the readers the sense that Milkman is hugely dependent on those around him, even when he has his
adventure.
The reason why I say that Milkman transitions into being a more independent person is that is
because Milkman transitions into a person with a lust to be separate. With the proper
amount of money, Milkman desires to finally get away from his parents after 31 years. This
signifies a massive shift in character since this is the first time Milkman strives for
anything. This is probably due to his upbringing. Milkman has been handed everything: a home,
a job, a loving girlfriend, etc. He never really knew the struggle of having nothing
and needed to work for material goods. As such, he always expected those things to be there
for him. I think this is also a prominent problem in society today as well. The shift to
being a more independent and free symbolizes the fact that at some point, everyone branches
off into their person, no matter how privileged or 1-dimensional they are.
I think that Milkman always had the inherent desire to be his own person (like when he attacked his father and strove to never become like Macon Dead), it's just that the whole situation with the gold meant that he finally could fulfill his desires. The gold was his opportunity to become independent, and it's interesting that the change he underwent at the end of the book was different than what he originally expected.
ReplyDeleteIn class we discussed how Lena ripping Milkman for his actions as the sort of turning point for Milkman's character. I think that Lena's rant to Milkman was a wake-up call for him. Perhaps it did involve him becoming more independent, but is it also because of a moral obligation to his sister? or a feeling of guilt? Just some thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI like your discussion of Milkman's character change! I agree that Morrison spends a lot of Part 1 setting up this greater character change in Milkman than we see in other characters. You saw the biggest change in Milkman's character as a change in independent, while I saw that as a drive behind a bigger change on his part of getting some sort of purpose in life. Either way, you're definitely right in detailing the importance of his independence. It's definitely central to the novel.
ReplyDeleteHey great post! If I could add on to what you were talking about the privilege that Milkman has as he grows up. I think that why the hunting scene was so impactful because in that moment there was nothing to make Milkman's life easier but himself. It was the peak of a massive transition of Milkman's personality, completely different from the first part of the novel where he is as you put it, quite "boring".
ReplyDeleteI really like your post! This new way of looking at Meursault's motivations is very intriguing. I completely agree with your point. After 31 years, he finally wants to be independent. Crazy.
ReplyDelete